"X Factor" honcho Simon Cowell talked about the dual host plan during a press call Wednesday, offering the first solid clue as to what direction the show would take after a massive house-cleaning operation that saw Jones and half of the judges fired.

Though Cowell did not state who he might be looking at to fill Jones' shoes, he did say that he wants one host to be male and one host to be female — something he had long hoped for the show.

Departed host Nicole Scherzinger, who was let go earlier this year, was originally intended to be a host on the show; she took the judge's chair after Paula Cole, a former judge on the British version of the show, was given the ax.

After a lackluster season that failed to live up to Cowell's prediction that the show would be bigger than his previous program, "American Idol," producers virtually started over in January, canning Jones, Scherzinger and Paula Abdul. Record-company executive Antonio "L.A." Reid remains on the judges' panel, along with Cowell.

Replacement judges for Scherzinger and Abdul have not been announced yet.